Scope and Contents of the Materials

The Correspondence Series (1834, 1845-1966) consists of twelve boxes and four sub-series.

The first sub-series are correspondence between family members and friends between the years 1834, and 1845 and 1966. It consists of nine boxes and twenty additional file folders in box 10.

The second sub-series is Education and made up of one file folder. Correspondence in this sub-series contains “pressure notes” to Olive and Mary Page when they attended Mt. Holyoke-Female Seminary wanting the twins to change their religious beliefs.

The third sub-series is Medical and is comprised of 33 file folders that contains correspondence that deal with Dr. William H. Page’s medical practice.

The fourth sub-series, Military, contains two file folders of World War I letters to Olive Page between 1918 and 1919.

The Art Series (1851-1852) consists of one cartoon that was created by Daniel Page when he was sent home from the Phillips Exeter Academy “because he did not know enough to enter the academy.”

The Cookery Series (ca. 1910-1920, undated) includes Mary Page Hastings undated manuscript cookbook. This cookbook includes recipes for cream pies, feed for 40 hens and washing fluid. Also in this series is a score card when Olive Page Rogers judged butter contests between 1910 and 1920.

The Education Series (1844-1929, undated) consists of school transcripts for Daniel Page from Phillips Exeter Academy, Florence Page from Newark Art School of Fine & Industrial Arts and Kingman Page from Bowdoin College. Essays by Mary Page, Nina Page, and William Page are included.

The Family Series (1817, 1943-195[2], undated) consists of eighteen file folders. These folders include genealogical information, garden records, church membership, wedding gifts, funerals, marriages and school medical examination.

The Legal Series (1789-1947, undated) is comprised of real estate documents, deeds, a law suit that Alice Page filed against Daniel Page and Benjamin Page in the 1840s, and wills and estates.

The Literary Series (1823-1923, undated) consists of essays by William H. Page, Poetry by Beatrice Page, Mary Page Hastings and Minnie Hastings and Valentines to William Page and Huldah Page.

The Medical Series (1840s-1885) is made up of documents from William H. Page’s medical practice. Items included are record books of patients, records of military recruits examined by Page at Boston during the Civil War, prescriptions, cures, and documents Page’s eye injury.

The Military Series (1861-1863) contains a discharge record book of Civil War soldiers from Massachusetts and New Hampshire. This book provides the rank, company, regiment, state, residence, date of discharge, volume number and page number.

Diaries Series (1854-1988) consists of 26 diaries. The most prominent diaries in the collection were written by Nina E. Page, daughter of Dr. William H. Page, from 1911 to 1942.

Memo Notebooks Series (1874-1881; 1909; 1973; undated) is comprised of two Page family address books (1909 and 1973), an undated events book, and an autograph book.

Correspondence Series, Alphabetical, 1972-2004 and undated consists of correspondence to Carolyn Page and Roy Zarucchi and their business The Nightshade Press.

Correspondence Series, Chronological, 1834-1946 and undated is made up of handwritten correspondence between Page Family members. These letters were not included in the original collection as Carolyn Page was using them for research. This series also includes correspondence, 1847-1878 and undated, that are typewritten because they had been transcribed onto a CD.

Subject, 1851-2002 and undated, is comprised of information relating to some of the Page family members and information pertaining to The Nightshade Press such as press releases, poetry book reviews, and some authors who wrote for the journal.

The Financial Series, 1850-1947, is made up of Account and Note Books and financial information kept by Victor E. Page and Olive Page Rogers. These accounts include prices of food, clothing and other household items purchased as well as crops and livestock bought and sold.

Legal Documents II, 1822-1912, consists of real estate records and deed, marriage records, wills, and estate records. The most interesting items in this series are the wills and estate documents of Benjamin and Huldah Page.

Literary Works II consists of an incomplete manuscript by Carolyn Page titled Homesteading in Desperate Times. It was to be a book about the twins, Mary and Olive Page. Mary married and moved to Missouri, while Olive taught school in Boston. Often Mary wrote home asking Olive to send her old clothes so that she could sew clothes for her children.

Printed Material II, 1839-2000, includes articles, books published by The Nightshade Press, book reviews, hymn lyrics, The Nightshade Press journals from 1989 to 2000.

The Photograph Series consist of three (3) photographs: Daniel and Maggie Page, Dannie, Lilli and Nettie, and an unidentified person.

The Media Series consists of one Compact Disk (CD, undated). This CD contains Page Family correspondence that has been transcribed. Researchers should try to match the transcribed letter to the original handwritten if all possible for accuracy.

The Oversize Series, 1865-1889, 1986 and undated, is made up of three Physician Record books belonging to Dr. William H. Page and to Nina A. Page and some art work by Anne Croom, Ray Gengenback, Joe McLendon and Carolyn Page.

The Artifacts Series, 1889-1890, 1915 and undated includes a birthday card, calling card case, a medical prescription pad, two wallets – one black and one brown, and a wooden letter box. There are also empty envelopes in this series that did not have correspondence attached.

Collection Historical Note

The collection is rich in medical history as one of the Page’s five children, William, graduated from Harvard Medical School in 1852 and practiced in Boston before becoming the resident physician at a resort hotel and hot springs in Las Vegas, New Mexico that was affiliated with the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad, and Fred Harvey (there are numerous letters from the Santa Fe headquarters in Topeka to Dr. Page). There is significant information about his medical work, including his involvement with troops during the Civil War. The experience of the twin daughters, Mary and Olive, of Benjamin and Huldah provide much insight into the lives of women, both personal and professional, during the mid to late 1800s. The educational experiences of males and females are well documented because the five children attended Phillips Exeter Academy, Mount Holyoke, Wellesley College, Bowdoin College and Harvard. For example, the twins received notes from classmates at Mount Holyoke encouraging them to become more Christian like in their beliefs! Daniel Page migrated to Kansas where he became a prominent settler in the Lindsborg area, serving in the Kansas House of Representatives, and daughter, Mary, settled in Missouri. Letters of both family members describe life in this region of the country. Agriculture practices are documented through the lives of several members, and military history is an important segment of the collection because of family members’ involvement in the Civil War and War World I. Cookery is represented by such items as a manuscript cookbook. While the previous descriptions cover the years 1845-1899, the letters of Nina Page (daughter of William and Nancy Page) describe her travels and employment in several European countries. She died in Nazi-occupied France in 1943.

Administrative Information

Repository:Morse Department of Special Collections

Accruals:
Boxes 19-42 are additions

Technical Access Note:
A computer with the appropriate slot will be needed to view the CD with the transcribed correspondence. Most, if not all, of these transcribed correspondence have been printed and placed within the collection.